RV Owners Drawn by Second-Home Deduction

July 15, 2013 by RVBusinessComments Off on RV Owners Drawn by Second-Home Deduction

A 50-something man climbed down from behind the wheel of the massive recreational vehicle in the parking lot of a county park.

“It’s my second home,” the man said to nobody in particular. “Took early retirement. And, I needed a deduction.’’

The Spokesman-Review, Spokane. Wash., reported that in the world of housing and shelter, the recreational vehicle also can qualify for the mortgage interest deduction as a second home.

According to the IRS, all “second homes” must be used as security of the loan and must have basic sleeping, cooking and toilet accommodations. Virtually all RV types – motorhomes, van campers, travel trailers, truck campers and even some folding camping trailers – are so equipped.

In a capsule, an RV combines transportation and temporary living quarters for travel, recreation and camping. The two main categories are motor homes (motorized) and towables (towed behind the family car, van or pickup). Types of towable RVs are folding camping trailers, truck campers, conventional travel trailers and fifth-wheel travel trailers.

And there’s a reason we see more of them on summer roadways. There are more than 12,000 RV-related businesses in the U.S. with combined annual revenues of more than $37.5 billion. The RV industry employs more than a quarter-million Americans with a payroll of about $4.9 billion.

More than 11% of U.S. households headed by people age 35 to 54 own an RV, exceeding the 9.3% ownership rates of those 55 and over. The 35-to-54 age group posted the largest gains in a 2011 study by the University of Michigan.